LIMITS // lrh

I couldn't bring myself to tear my eyes away from the blue eyed guitar player as he adjusted the microphone stand in front of him. Something about the way he stood, with his long legs spread apart, one foot in front of the other and a slight bend to the knee, sent shivers down my spine. I felt the sharp edges of my top row of teeth begin to gnaw at the soft flesh of my bottom lip as I examined the soft looking stubble that grazed across his cheeks and down his neck, making him look much older than I'm sure he is.

"What do you mean he's-" Before I could even begin to question what Casey meant by the blonde haired guitarist being the 'embodiment of a loaded god complex', the sharp blare of an electric guitar filled the air and the crowd went silent as the spotlight came up on the very man in question.

"We're Morning Light and this first song is called 'Shut Me Down'." The faintest twang of an accent rippled off the end of the words he spoke, and I found myself sitting up straighter as I eagerly await the next words to drip from his lips. Every minute that I keep looking at him, I find myself more and more enraptured with this mysterious front man of Ashton's band. A melody of guitar, bass, and keyboard fill the air as the opening notes of the song play out and fill the small club. I can feel the vibrations through the floor, and the smooth sounds of Luke's guitar sends a shiver down my spine. As Ashton kicks in with the drums, I find my eyes torn between the mysterious unknown guitarist, and my friend's older brother as he begins confidently playing out a strong beat.

"Where are you now? When everything is falling to the ground, and I'm left to pick up the pieces..."

Luke's velvety smooth voice rings out through the club, his hint of an accent disappearing just as fast as it appeared.

"Where were you when I tried to fix this, when I tried to make things right..."

"Holy shit, baby boy can sing!" Riley pants as she turns to look at me with eyes the size of teacup saucers. She fans a hand in front of her chest and mouths the words 'oh my god' to me. I can't be bothered to respond to her. I can't even move as I sit there listening to the beautiful curly haired, blue eyed mystery man with the silver nose ring belt out the lyrics to their original indie song in his rough, satin smooth voice. I feel paralyzed to the spot where I sit, hands folded carefully in my lap and mouth snapped shut in a tight line as I'm hypnotized by the raspy waves of his voice bouncing off the walls. I watch the way his lips move as he belts out the words, forming each vowel and consonant sound carefully. The bow of his top lip bends and stretches as he adjusts his pitch, and his eyebrows furrow in concentration, eyes scrunching closed as he hits an unbelievable high note vibrato that nearly stops my heart in its tracks.

I have no idea how many songs they play as I watch Luke's Adam's apple bob as he sings the words, the veins in his neck becoming prominent as they pick up the tempo. His large hands grip the microphone in front of him, and his broad frame bends and dips around the stand as he swings to the music, loosening up with each song that passes.

The crowd gets more and more into the performance with each song, and soon everyone is yelling and screeching for more as they pause their back to back setlist.

"How's everyone doing downtown tonight?" Ashton yells into his microphone, holding up a beer in response to the whoops and hollers he receives from the crowd. I finally break my eyes away from Luke's tall frame long enough to catch Ashton lock eyes with me as he begins to tie a navy bandana around his sweat slicked forehead. He winks at me and I can feel the beginning of a blush burning at my cheeks as I return his acknowledgement with a small wave of my fingers. My action unfortunately doesn't go unnoticed by the guitar player, and he stares at me with an unreadable expression as his eyes dart between where I sit and Ashton.

He smirks, picking up a water bottle from the ground next to him and twisting the cap open with his long nimble fingers, bringing the plastic bottle up to his plump lips and taking a few long pulls. I can't take my eyes off of his mouth as he drinks, his deep pink lips wet as he pulls it away from his mouth and swipes his tongue across his bottom lip to catch any remaining water droplets. I'm not sure why, but the way he licks his lips clean makes my stomach clench and I begin to feel incredibly nervous.

I shift in my seat, crossing my legs one over the other and leaning forward against the table, and my action doesn't go unnoticed by the frontman like I assumed it would. I watch as his eyes scan the room before landing on me, and I swear I can see the hint of a devious smile pull on the edge of his lips. I gasp, feeling a chill run up my spine once again as I break eye contact with his crystal clear gaze. Something about him scared me and excited me at the same time. He practically had a neon orange construction sign over his head screaming at me 'danger', but I think that's what intrigued me about him the most.

I looked between the intimidating guitar player named Luke and where Ashton sat, a large smile on his face as he began tapping at his drums again, signaling the start of the next song. I watched the muscles in Ashton's tan arms ripple as he beat the drums, sweat rolling off of his skin in waves and his face screwed up in concentration. There was no doubt in my mind that he was attractive, and even though he was covered in tattoos, I felt almost safe when I watched him play. Something about his strong demeanor and open personality drew me in and made me feel protected, and I liked that about him. Yet as I watched Ashton play, I felt my eyes wander back to the tall guitarist with the scratchy voice and mysterious demeanor.

I wasn't sure how long I sat staring, my mind buzzing with question after question as I watched the frontman named Luke steal the hearts of every woman in the audience. Something about the way he kept his clear blue eyes guarded as he sang his heart and soul out on stage intrigued me, and I felt my head begin to spin and my gut twist up in discomfort. He made me nervous. There was no question about that. But at the same time, I found myself wanting to know more. Where was he from? What secrets did he keep guarded behind the lock and key of his bright blue eyes? Why did I feel so nervous around him?

"Oh my god they are so good!" Riley squeaked in my ear as she danced along in her seat. I opened my mouth to respond, but when I tried, no words came out. My throat had clenched shut and my mouth was parched, so I simply resorted to nodding my head as I let my eyes flick once more between Ashton and Luke.

I caught Ashton's eye and he gave me a wide smile, one that I felt myself returning without a second thought, and it just felt right. I stared back at his hazel eyes, eyes that I knew held all of his emotion right on the surface. Eyes that, unlike a certain lead singers, let people in.
"-once again, we're Morning Light, thank you St. Paul it's been a pleasure playing for you tonight, you've been a great crowd!" I'm snapped out of my thoughts by the slight twang of Luke's accented voice filling the stale club air once again. Roars of applause and whooping fill the air, and he gives a slight bow as Ashton stands up and claps him on the back, throwing a hand in the air and waving to the crowd as the rest of the band does the same.

Mikey nudges me in the shoulder, letting me know that I've been standing frozen much too long, and I automatically begin clapping my hands together, still stuck in a daze of blonde curls and nose rings.

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